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Holly Wildcats keep their season alive

The Holly Wildcats football team made the trip north to Caliche where they faced the Buffaloes for a Class 1A 8-man state quarterfinal showdown on Saturday, Nov. 11.

The game marked the first-ever state playoff meeting between the two clubs.

Caliche took an early lead before the Wildcats settled in and ran away with a 47-26 victory.

"This was a huge win for our program," praised Holly head coach Dayne Eaton. "It was a long bus ride up there but it was a lot shorter on the ride home after the 'W'".

Holly (9-1) will now face a tall order in the state semifinals when they host the undefeated and two-time defending state champion Sedgwick County Cougars (10-0) on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.

"We are really looking forward to the next challenge," said Coach Eaton. "Sedgwick County is a team with a lot of tradition on their side. But I feel we match up with them athletically. They got 35 kids out and like to mix it up like us. We're really happy to have them at our place and we're looking forward to playing in front of a big home crowd."

The Wildcats last made it to the Final Four in 2003 where they lost to Merino 48-0.

Before that season, the previous semifinal berth came in 1960 for Holly.

Sedgwick County advanced to the semifinals with a 44-6 state quarterfinal victory over the Fowler Grizzlies last Saturday in Fowler.

The game was tied at 6-6 after the first quarter before Sedgwick County took a 12-6 lead at halftime.

The Cougars blew the game open in the second half as they scored 20 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth.

Holly has faced Sedgwick County twice and did not fare well.

The Wildcats lost to the Cougars, 67-7, during the regular season in 2015 and 64-20 in the regular season in 2014.

Holly 47, Caliche 26

"We knew that we would have to stop Caliche's ground game because they had a big physical running back," said Coach Eaton. "We did a good job with team defense."

Holly fell behind 14-0 when Caliche scored with 4:11 in the first quarter and took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Holly didn't hit the panic button and got things rolling to take a 20-14 lead at halftime. It proved to be a lead the Wildcats never surrendered.

"It was a character check when we fell behind," Coach Eaton said. "But, I was super proud of my kids and staying together as a team and not blaming each other. We just stuck with the game play and it panned out for us."

Holly got the spark they needed when Alex Ramos returned a squib kick 65 yards to pay dirt. A pass from quarterback Kobe Davis to Gustavo Dominguez on the extra point made it 14-8.

A Caliche turnover helped set the next score when Brandon Wilson forced a fumble which was recovered by the Wildcats.

Holly then tied the contest at 14-14 on an 18-yard TD strike from Davis to William Kennedy with 5:32 showing in the second quarter.

The Wildcats later took a 20-14 lead on a four-yard plunge by Erick Chaparro. The extra point failed.

In the second half it was all Holly as they outscored the Buffaloes, 27-12.

"We had some miscues early but once we got rolling they didn't have an answer for a passing game in the second half," stated Coach Eaton. "

In the third quarter, Holly would score twice to build a 34-20 lead.

The Wildcats received the second half kick off and struck quickly on a 47-yard TD strike from Davis to Jarett Rushton. A run on the extra point by Robert Gutierrez made it 28-14.

Caliche put together a scoring drive to bring the score to 28-20 with 7:10 showing in the third quarter.

Holly answered when they struck through the air lanes once again on a 57-yard pass from Davis to Dominguez. The extra point kick was blocked as the score stood 34-20.

In the fourth quarter, Davis fired his fourth TD pass when he connected with Kennedy on an 11-yard strike to extend Holly's lead to 40-20.

With just under two minutes left in the game, Caliche scored a TD to make it 40-26.

The Wildcats put the finishing touches to the game when Gutierrez busted a 57-yard run. He also ran over the extra point to bring the final score to 47-26.

Gutirrez finished the afternoon with 92 yards rushing while Chaparro added 73 yards on the ground.

Davis completed 14-of-22 passes for 239 yards and four TD strikes.

Dominguez caught four passes for 88 yards and 1 TD while Kennedy had three catches for 36 yards and 2 TDs, and Rushton had two catches for 61 yards including 1 TD.

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